Critical reception
According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on twenty-five critics: nineteen "rave", five "positive", and one "mixed". [6] In the November/December 2022 issue of Bookmarks , the book was scored four out of five. The magazine's critical summary reads: "As the Financial Times concludes, “No sentimental tale of girlhood friendship, instead Li’s novel is deeply in tune with the complex perils and pleasures of a brutal, but sometimes beautiful world". [7]
Critics have written about similarities between The Book of Goose and the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante. [8] [9] [10] Writing for The Atlantic , Sarah Chihaya referred to comparisons between the novel and the series by Ferrante as "too-easy" and "only helpful in orienting the reader toward the themes of desire and self-determination shared by the works." [8] In a review published by the Financial Times , Lucy Scholes asserted that comparisons between "any well-written novel about female friendship" and the Neapolitan Novels were inevitable. [9] Scholes specifically highlighted similarities in the settings of the works and the "dynamic" of the friendships. [9] Megan O'Grady wrote in a review for The New York Times that the comparisons were valid at the outset of the book, but as the novel evolved and the setting changed it instead reminded her of writing by Swiss author Fleur Jaeggy and Scottish writer Muriel Spark. [10]
